Today I’m going to show you some crucial tips for blogging. These are highly useful advice that can also be taken as a valuable roadmap for successful blogging.
They are not only focused on newbie bloggers, but also those who want to take their blog to the next level.
Tip #1. Determine your “why’ for blogging.
In order words, what is your goal for starting?
Before you jump into blogging you need to answer a few questions: What is this blog going to do for you? Is your aim to build a community?
Do you want to make money from it? Do you just want to use it to chronicle your life journey for your family consumption alone?
Do you want to make money? Do you want to become famous? Do you just want to explore it to discover what you can do?
Are looking to connect further with your customers? Are you trying to sell something or are you trying to build brand awareness?
Being able to answer the questions above is the absolutely necessary in crushing the first hurdle to a successful blogging.
Too many bloggers get into blogging without knowing why they got into blogging.
At first, they’re pumped and ready to go the whole hog without getting a clearly- defined goal. This screams failure even from the very beginning.
Know your destination because anyone that does not know where he is going to is not likely to get there. A journey without destination produces no result.
Let your site design be very appealing. Blogging is a community and the community has a standard. Do all you can to bring your blog to an acceptable standard.
I’ve heard that a poor site design can subconsciously embed in the mind of the reader the message, “that you’ve nothing better to give.
” While a beautiful and clean blog says: “I am organized and I have worked hard to keep this blog looking great for you, and you should expect no less quality out of my posts,”
If your blog is not giving out the right impression, get a serious blog design makeover. You may also consider changing your theme to a more professional one.
For example, divi theme from elegant themes. Divi theme makes your site stand out and it’s easily customizable.
#3. Choose a niche.
Choose a niche you’re comfortable blogging, so that you don’t experience burnout.
You can blogs on almost any topic imaginable under the sun, but give due diligence to make sure the topic you choose is worth your time and money.
#4. Don’t be too promotional.
Don’t try to sell products too early on your blog. I’m not the only one saying this, others seasons bloggers I have come in contact with never miss giving this as one of their blogging tips.
The best way to make people purchase things from your blog is for them to see your as a resource and not a sales outlet.
You will scare off your readers if all you try to do is sell something to them. Rather, establish a blog that will provide useful, interesting materials that will lead to a purchasing decision.
However, there are always exceptions to every rule. If its absolutely necessary for you to pitch a sale, then do it without being pushy.
You don’t want your audience thinking all you want to do is hit them every time they land on your blog, do you? Being perceived in this manner comes with dire consequences.
#5. Build your email list
This is one of the most important and urgent “must do” among the tips for blogging. Not building your email list is a great and regrettable mistake any blogger could make.
Start building your list through your email subscription from the day your blog is launch. Decide on an irresistible incentive that effectively meets the needs of your audience.
You’ll also need an email subscriber service with a reliable autoresponder to set up your email your subscription.
There are several to choose from on the market that are reliable such as awebber, mail chip and convertkit.
In addition to this, you’ll also need an incentive, also called lead magnet or freebies that you give to your subscribers in exchange for their email. You know, sort of like a bribe for them to give you their email.
Subscribers don’t easily give out their emaiL so your exchange must be good enough.
Examples of lead magnet to give out are: cheat sheet, content upgrade, free tools you use, handy template, free e-books etc.
Oh! I remember an incidence that happened when I heard of lead magnet for the first time as a newbie blogger. It was so strange, I didn’t know what the person talking was saying to me- was it lead magnet or lead magnate?
I just couldn’t figure it out. Worst still when I eventually did, I didn’t know how to go about it.
So, I went over to Fiverr to get somebody to do it for me.
What he delivered to me was unbelievable. He brought me a hand drawn image ( a sketch) that had no bearing whatsoever with what I needed it for.
Needless to say I ended up not using it, and I also lost the money I paid to him.
Those were the days when I was really a “green blogger.”
Some of you fail to realize that I understand your pains as new newbie bloggers. Be rest assured that I understand too well because I’ve been there.
Follow these tips for blogging and if you have any problem still, just let me know using any of these social media platforms – twitter or Facebook.
Most of the third party blogging platform are free, but they’re not without their cost and interference from the platform owners.
For one, if you use the free or third party blogging platform, you may not have an absolute control over your blog because the domain is not yours. Even, if you buy a domain it will be stringed along side the name of the platform.
`Other ways to make your blog look professional are to use the right colours and make navigation easy.
#7. Choose a good host
That’ll make your site run fast. If you use the wrong or free hosting, at some point it might get hacked or slow down. Use a premium host to make your site run fast.
The one I use and I have not recorded any downtime or any other problem with is bluehost. But there are others on the market that are also reliable site ground and hostgator.
#8. Define your audience
knowing your audience is as important as food is to the body. Who is your blog for? Is It for high school students, stay at home mom. Here at theonlinecompass.com we cater to newbie bloggers and those that are hoping to be successful online entrepreneurs.
Not defining your target audience is a NO 1 blog success killer. If your audience is too broad, you cannot isolate their specific pain point, let alone tailor your blog to meet their needs.
#9. Have an editorial calender and write consistently.
Cultivate a daily writing habits that helps you produce content consistently. Having an editorial Calender will help do this.
#10. Your opening paragraph
Let the opening paragraph of your post pique the interest of your audience immediately they land on your post.
If your readers cannot figure out from the introductory paragraph what to your post is all about, they may not see reasons to invest further time on your blog.
#11. Write unique contents that are relevant to your audience.
Always remember your are writing for humans and not for robots. Write helpful content that’ll provide help to your readers. The blogging community is growing everyday, and it’s becoming increasingly competitive to win over a potential audience for your blog. Give your readers content that address their needs, and they’ll keep coming back for more.
#12. Promote your blog.
There are so many ways to promote your blog, and you need to actively do this to get traffic to your site.
No matter how good your blog is, chances are you won’t see traffic until you promote your blog.
Promote your blog to your target audience via the social stream: Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook… other places to promote your blog are forum, article directories, newspaper, television, email correspondence etc.
Often times, it’s exhausting utilizing all social media platform to grow your blog. In order not to take on too much at the same time, it’s adviceable starting with two or three social media platforms
#13. Be active in the blogging community
Join groups such as facebook groups to Connect with other bloggers. Your relationship with the community helps you to stay focused, and not get discouraged when the going gets tough.
Comment on other blogs, be active on social media and remember to tag other bloggers (this way, they know you are actively following them), and be an active participant in forums.
#14. Take care SEO.
That is, the onsite and offsite. Also, ensure to internal link your post. This way, people can see other post that are related. This is super for blog conversion.
#15. Have a backup post
Write more post than you’ve scheduled to post. In the event of failure to write, you have backup post to publish. For example, this particular post was written some months back.
But it’s serving today as a compensation for my inability to meet my writing schedule due to pressure from other things that are demands more attention right now.
Having backup posts also helps you to continue with your daily blogging life without being subjected to writing under pressure, even when you need to to take some time off.
#16. Be prepared to master the craft
Be prepared to learn ceaselessly. Take your cues from the athletes that train every day until they are the absolute best.
This is the way to treat your blogging business. Put everything you’ve got into it, if you truly want to see the astounding success you hear about.
Be like the athletes by getting a coach and investing in yourself. Keep learning and you’ll be happy for it.
#17. Plan each of your post well
Invest time into each piece, edit and format your post, and add great designs to your post.
#18. Stand out
There are millions of blogs online, and millions of post written everyday. Seek to stand out by delivering values to your audience. Let them know you’re dependable.
#19. Be committed
Give your blog the necessary commitment it deserves. Make it a priority. It’s so easy to put our blog aside when we get busy, and give priority to other things in life that we consider more important. Before you rush off to do other things, ensure you take care of your blog.
#20. Focus on your strength.
To have a successful blog is actually quite easy. Do what you are always good at doing, don’t try to copy others. Give your blog your unique perspective.
Successful people focus on their strength. If yours is SEO, then focus on it. If it’s fashion or food. Let that be your focus.
#21. Failure is not the end.
To make success in blogging you must be willing to rise up again and keep moving when you fail. The road to success is not a smooth one.
#22. Be yourself
Allow your uniqueness to reflect in your blogging. Don’t be too professional or use big vocabularies to impress anyone.
If you are new to blogging and all you are doing is learning and blogging about, then let your audience know.
Write in a natural tone your readers will be drawn to. Don’t claim to be who you’re not. Just be yourself!
#23. Ask your readers to share your content
Because your social media signal improves your ranking, encourage your readers to share your contents on social media by adding share buttons to your page. It really doesn’t hurt to ask them politely to share it, if they found it useful.
#24: Learn the secrets of successful bloggers.
Be smart in what you’re doing. One of the best ways to do this is to build deep knowledge in your area of specialisation. Getting smarter takes time and genuine commitment, and you really need to work hard at it.
Almost all of us can acquire knowledge, but not every one is willing to put in the effort to do this.
We all differ in our abilities to acquire knowledge, think logically, integrate ideas and attain goal. But, when we put our minds to it, we can become really smart at what we are doing. This is because our minds are extremely potent devices.
Don’t think it’s the exclusive rights of influencer bloggers to be at the top alone, and therefore, resign to being a mediocre.
Find out what they do or did that got them such popularity, and do your best to be like them, and perhaps surpass them.
One of the secrets of smart people is that they are constantly seeking knowledge.
That’s why you go, ” wow!… wow!!… wow!!!” When you read their post. You get astonish at the level of knowledge they exhibit.
But how do they know so much? The answer is simple.
They study everyday.
How does the doctor become a doctor? How does the lawyer become a lawyer?
They study!
Now here’s a quick one for you.
How does the blogger become an influencer blogger?
Um..um.. By studying.
Very good!
I see you’re catching the bug of a successful blogger.
Expertise is one of the most valuable assets you can have as a blogger. The more you know about a topic, the more you can teach and thereby influence others.
“When you’re in Rome, do like the Romans.” Study what makes people tick in the blogging community and do it.
#25. Be productive, think more and do less
One of the goals you want to achieve as a blogger is to do less work and accomplish more.
Does spending the whole day and time being busy make you more productive? This may not be true.
What makes you productive is the level of your output based on the time your spend in achieving it.
According to smartsheet, you can measure employee productivity with the labor productivity equation: total output / total input.
It went further to explain it using this example: Let’s say your company generated $80,000 worth of goods or services (output) utilizing 1,500 labor hours (input). To calculate your company’s labor productivity, you would divide 80,000 by 1,500, which equals 53. This means that your company generates $53 per hour of work.
Working smart beats working hard. In some cases, working hard can actually damage the amount you get accomplished.
To be productive, we may need to think more and do less.
Why?
Thinking more enables you to make a better choice of where to put your resources and strength.
Your productivity will depend on the choices you make. Not making better choice is time wasting.
Not making a good choice of where to put your strength and resource amounts to being wasteful
This is how this management guru, Peter Drucker puts it, “who said there’s nothing more wasteful than making more efficient something that never should have been done in the first place.”
Spend more to think about that post you want to write to bring out the best in you. Don’t be in a hurry!
I have heard some writers saying it takes them very little time to write a post. Some even say, as little as under one hour. I keep wondering how?
Frankly speaking I can’t write a quality post in such a short time. In some cases, it takes me days. I still have some posts I’m yet to complete because I’m still researching, and thinking it.
If your motive is to produce quality content and have blog post that people are falling over themselves to link to, you must be prepared to give yourself to more meditations and less activities. This is compulsory for maximum productivity.
To be an influencer blogger, you need quality time to think, Not just a few minutes a day. You’ve to offload the heavy baggage of activities doing their best to turn your mind into a market place.
Too much activities stalls productivity.
However, this shouldn’t be misconstrued with over thinking that leads to inactivity. Learn to maintain a balance.
The bottom line is that thinking more helps you to figure out where to direct your limited resources and time.
#26: Don’t let your family disapproval of your blogging career choice discourage you
Does this sound familiar?
Your friends and family, the people you want most to be supportive of your blogging career, aren’t as enthusiastic as you’d like them to be.
Most of us have been told to go to school, get good grades, and get a good job. But, what if this isn’t what you want to do? You know that you have what it takes to succeed in blogging, but no one else thinks so.
And as such, they try to talk you out of it. It can be quite deflating and saddening.
But what do you do in circumstances like this?
If nobody believes in your dream, you must be prepared to prove them wrong!
This is what Oprah WInfrey – the woman who her boss didn’t think she fit the profile of a TV announcer and gave her a demotion. Yet, she went a head to become one of the biggest TV personality today – .has to say:
“My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.” — Oprah Winfrey.
This woman was able to make people believe in her because of the work she did.
Remember, “people believe more in your action than in your talk or thought.”
So begin today, map out a concrete plan that incorporates all the blogging tips I have handed over to you in this article, and you’ll be well on your way to succeeding.
Don’t worry so much about your doubting family and friends, they’ll definitely come around to celebrate your success.
#27: Acquire companions who will up your game
The choice of friends you make can make or break your success in life. How is your circle of friends influencing you?
Are you always with the people that share your dreams, who will push you to be the best?
Make friends with those that are smarter than you. Plant yourself behind those that have braced the trail and learn what it takes from them.
I’ve heard this saying, “ your network is your net worth.”
Keep company with mediocres and you’ll be a mediocre. If you keep company with the wise your will be wise.
Ooooh… I’m going to the bible now, pardon me.
It says, “a companion of fools shall be destroyed, and he that keeps company with the wise shall be wise.”
In order words, “Keep company with the successful and you’ll be successful.”
By the way, the bible is one of my greatest books.
We can’t help but conform to some degree to the people we find ourselves with.
The renowned motivational speaker and businessman, Jim Rohn says, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
My advice to you is that you look for people that will raise your average or challenge you to be the best in blogging.
#28: Do not write short post.
No newbie blogger should be aiming for nothing less than 2000 words because readers love it and spend longer time reading.
It’s not enough to give just long content though, in addition give quality content. If you are writing educative content, then give your readers every morsel it.
They will link to it, share it, and leave comment on it. All these will improve your ranking because you just got the heart of google.
#29. Give out your knowledge for free
Giving out your knowledge, openly sharing your expertise, and giving out your know-how to your audience is the most effective method of getting exposure for your business.
You’ve to give it out for free to profit from it.
However, you should also have paid content or you’ll get frustrated not getting anything in return for your hard work.
Look at the successful bloggers, they do not withhold their trade secret.
When your readers find you generous with your knowledge, they’ll trust you and become your fans. And these fans will eventually become your paying customers.
It’s understandable to think if you give all your advice away, you won’t be needed anymore. You are probably right.
But,there will always be a sector of the population that will take your advice and remember you when they need more, or when they need something else that you can help them with, even if it requires payment.
They do this because they are learning to trust you.
Establish yourself as an expert first, and make the money afterward without struggling.
#30. Work on one blog at a time
You may be tempted to build many blogs at the same time. This can make you ineffective.
It’s impossible to build a popular blog working on so many blogs at the same time. Concentrate on building one into an authority site before taking on another.
#31. Avoid bad writing.
Poor writing, if displayed on a blog is even made worse. There is a good chance that your audience or reader will not come back if your blog isn’t written well.
Punctuation, grammatical usage, and spellings all have to be taken care of when it comes to writing a blog post. These can’t be compromised.
However, you mustn’t get discouraged if your English is not perfect pitch. It may not be easy to speak and write english proficiently if you are not a native English speaker.
I’m not, but I’m working on it, and I believe with constant practice, you can greatly improve too.
#32: Respond to comments on your post.
In order not to hurt your business don’t only reply positive comment, but also constructive negative , disruptive comments and trolls in a way that’ll appease the commenter. You don’t want them campaigning against you. Do you?
Most commenters on your blog are your loyal readers, replying makes them feel appreciated, increases their loyalty and inspires them to leave more comment on your blog. And this in turn increases your blog’s visibility on search engines.
#33. Don’t do it all by yourself
You can’t keep your head above waters if you do it all alone in blogging. Doing everything all by yourself is a highly ineffective way of getting things done.
As a busy blogger, you’re probably juggling a multitude of different tasks, many of which are repetitive and frankly, quite boring. Outsource what you cannot handle, or better still, automate your work
. Doing everything all by yourself is a costly struggle. There comes a point you consider your health.
Decide when to spend your money to hire a service, and when you can do it yourself.
Fortunately, there are a number of tools available for bloggers to help improve productivity; the blogging work has now being made easier and can be scaled into a company that is more than one employee.
Automating your blogging task will remove distractions from you, eliminate redundant task and help you become a productive blogger.
Outsource what you cannot automate. Here are three blogging areas you can outsource to a virtual assistant:
Finding post in your niche to comment on, curating content for social media, and researching and writing post.
#34. Don’t worry about what you can’t control.
The things you can’t control, you shouldn’t waste time over. Yes, you’re going to get angry, and be frustrated, and get upset, and that’s totally okay.
Don’t react in a way that makes things even worse. Just work hard to fix what you can and leave what you cannot.
#35: Write blog content that inspire your reader to respond and share.
Let your post be written from your point of view, and open up the floor for your readers to give their opinions on the post too.
Don’t write like you are giving a presentation, with the expectation that you have a fully developed idea that needs no further contributions.
The idea behind writing a good post is that you make your point and give your readers the opportunity to make his too.Let your blog facilitate communications by inciting your readers to express their thoughts through commenting.
#36: Understand your audience
Understanding your audience means you are able to produce content tailored to their needs.
Plan to invest in your blog in a long time before you see reward. Most people come into blogging with the misconception of making a six figure income overnight.
Unfortunately, most of them are misguided by the false claims by some bloggers of earning six figures income, even when their blogs have nothing to show for being able to generate such. Blogging isn’t that way.
There is no doubt, blogging can generate huge income, and some influencers are actually earning big money from their blogs. But I personally don’t believe all claims are true. This is the internet after all, anything goes. You have to beware!
The web is a big place and you must be willing to invest for a greater period of time than most to see success.
If you can stick to your blog for a long time, doing all it takes to succeed, you’ll definitely see great reward from it.
#38: Give your articles catchy headlines
Make your post headings catchy. What is the first thing that attracts you to read a newspaper or a magazine article?
Why write a great post and give it an unappealing headline?
Your headline must be interesting, and also give a good idea of what the post has to offer.
This is probably the hardest part. There are good reasons while you should write and publish consistently.
You develop the habit of writing when you blog consistently by increasing your writing momentum on a daily basis.
This results in positive impact on your readership and traffic.
It’s really so easy to lose your audience than to keep them. Giving Them fresh content is one of the ways to avoid this.
#40. Take the leap!
This is to all my readers that are yet to start their blog. You’ve research enough! just don’t overthink it. Ditch the fear and start your blog today without further delays!
Though I have covered a whole lot of blogging tips here, there is no doubt however, there are still some very salient tips that I might have missed out.
Please, feel free to enlighten us more in the comment below.
One more thing, I’d be most grateful to you if you could share this post on any social media platform of your choice.
